Six years ago I was 21, and my friend and business partner, Alan, posed a question to me:  “Ryan, how do you eat an elephant?”  The answer was simply, “one bite at a time.”  I had no idea what he was talking about, why we were talking about ingesting large wrinkly African creatures, or what in the bloody world this had to do with my music.  I wasn’t even dumbfounded or flabbergasted because that would have indicated that I was capable of giving the metaphor some thought.  I think he offered me an explanation, but to be frank I was so not on the right page that this memory barely registers a flicker of brain activity in me today.

But that question stirred a process of transformation about how I think about my music, and I would like to share the beginnings of these thoughts with you today, and much much more about it in the future in this regular column on MuseZu.com in the hopes that it will help you to maximize your footprint in your local music scene.  Hello, nice to meet you, my name is Ryan.

Nine years ago I was nearly 18, and I had the unfortunate pleasure of waiting until I was that age to attend my first rock concert.  It was Pearl Jam.  I sneaked into the VIP section of a sold out show (thanks Lindsay!) and, miraculously, whoever owned the ticket to that seat never showed.  I cried, I sang along, I was inspired.  The energy… the power of the music… all the fans, each connecting in his or her own very personal way to the band through the songs…  In that moment I dispelled my lifelong dream of becoming an FBI Agent.  They probably don’t really get to have shoe phones anyway, I wouldn’t be missing much.  September 5, 2000, three days before my birthday.  I considered it my birthday present.

The next day my first song happened.  After years and years of trying to write and having nothing to say, musically or lyrically, suddenly I had been given the gift of song.  I shared it with some of my very close friends, and they liked it!  I had written something that was more or less identifiable as a cohesive song!  It is called “Time”, I will post it here sometime to share with you all.  200 songs (or so) later I’m still writing, I just got a little more picky about which ones get written.  Infinite is the place in the universe where all the songs that are waiting to be given are held.  If you’re reading this I think you know what I’m talking about, and I would wager that you, too, have an inspiration moment, the instant you decided you wanted to become a musician, or a painter, or a poet, or a chef, or a computer programmer…  Anything that anyone ever does is an art form.

So, back to the elephant.

Your dream is the elephant.  I know you do it sometimes; close your eyes and imagine yourself in front of hundreds, or thousands of people singing along to your music.  In keeping with the metaphor, it’s a big dream, and it’s impossible to accomplish if your focus is on getting it done all at once.  Hence: “One bite at a time.”

“Five minutes a day, and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish,” muses my very zen friend, Max, drummer for the prestigious Crown City Rockers and  also the the time-keeper in my Pearl Jam Tribute Band, Riot Act.  In this column I will aspire to share with you a lot of “five minute a day” things that you can do every day until they become habits that will help you maximize your band’s footprint in your local scene.  I truly think you are not so far from your dream as it may feel.  We’ll just need to do a little mental surgery, some redefinition of a few things, and you’ll be off on your way!  The results will be immediate.  Pinkie swear!

And here’s the coolest thing; I’m going to do them with you.  That way we can compare notes and share experiences that will be mutually beneficial to me, and you, and everyone who ever reads this blog.

MuseZu and Be Heard!

Ryan

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